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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28846188">Unexpected News</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chasing_Crows/pseuds/Chasing_Crows'>Chasing_Crows</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Gravity Falls</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Brotherhood, Brothers, Dysfunctional Family, Family, Family Drama, Family Issues, Family Secrets, Gen, Mother-Son Relationship, Phone Calls &amp; Telephones, Siblings, Teen Pregnancy, Teenage Parents, Unplanned Pregnancy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 03:48:27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,803</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28846188</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chasing_Crows/pseuds/Chasing_Crows</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Stan gets an unexpected phone call from his mother who has surprising news about Shermie.  (takes place about five years after Ford gets lost to the portal)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Stan Pines &amp; The Pines Family</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>22</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Unexpected News</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The ring of the phone was not a sound Stanley Pines particularly liked.  He didn’t have friends to call him up to chat, and he hated people who tried to sell him things.  For the most part, the phone existed to waste his time, so as it rang one Wednesday afternoon, he hoped whoever was on the other line was going to make things quick.  “Hello?”</p><p>“Stanford?”</p><p>Annoyance was replaced with concern as he heard his mother’s choked voice.  It had been over half a decade since he faked his own death and took on Stanford’s identity, and while Ma still called a couple times a year to try and convince him to visit for holidays, he would always make an excuse of being too busy with research to take a trip across the continental United States.  Come to think of it, the last time he had seen her was at his own funeral.</p><p>“Ma, are you okay?  It sounds like you’ve been crying,” Stan made an effort to disguise his voice like his brother’s.</p><p>His mother let out a sob.  “Stanford- it’s terrible!”</p><p>Stan didn’t know what to say, so he paused and let her continue when she was ready.  After a minute, she managed to say, “it’s your br-brother.”</p><p>Ford- but then he remembered.  He was Ford, and Stan was dead.  “Is Shermie okay?  What happened?”</p><p>More crying was all he could hear.  He couldn’t remember many times throughout his life when Ma had lost her composure like this, in fact, the only time she had cried so openly in front of him was at the funeral.  Although he barely knew his baby brother, the thought of him being dead made his throat tighten.  Poor Ma had already lost one son so young, she couldn’t go through that again.</p><p>“Ma, is Shermie alright?  Can you tell me?”</p><p>“He’s still j-just a boy!  My little Shermie-”</p><p>They had been on the phone for almost five minutes, and they hadn’t made much progress.  Whatever she had to tell him, she was in no state to deliver such news.  Stan did his best to sound calming, “take some deep breaths.  Do you need to call me back later?”</p><p>“No, I’m, I’m fine,” she said, and he could imagine her shaking her head to recenter.  “Okay, I’m okay.  Well, there- there’s a girl from his-”</p><p>“Fuck.”  While Stan wasn’t expecting a call from his mother today, he certainly couldn’t have predicted the call to bring news like this.  He was the family screw-up, and his brother was supposed to be better than him.  He was the one who got kicked out, who lived in his car for years, who had been to prison multiple times, who was banned in more states than not, who amassed an extensive criminal record, who lost his twin, who was supposedly dead.  He was the one who was the failure.  Stan’s entire life had been disappointment after disappointment, and that was supposed to be all the Pines family needed.</p><p>“He’s only a boy!”  She took a shaky breath, “I mean, we had kids young, but at least we were adults!  At least I was old enough to legally drive a car!”</p><p>“Uh, Ma, how old is Shermie again?”  He was embarrassed to ask- the real Ford would have kept track of that sort of thing.</p><p>“Fifteen.”  God, she sounded so defeated.</p><p>“Ma,” but he had nothing more to say.  He tried to imagine his brother as a teenager.  The only real memory he had of Shermie besides when he was a baby was as an elementary schooler stuffed in a suit pretending to be sorrowful for the loss of a brother he had never known.  When Stan and Ford were fifteen, they still had dreams of sailing the world in search of adventure; Shermie should be doing the same.</p><p>“She wants to keep the baby, and Sherm says he’s gonna marry her and get a place when they graduate high school.  To be a father by his junior year, though- he was supposed to go to college, and now he’s going to have to worry about diaper changes and paying bills instead.”</p><p>“What did Pa say?”</p><p>“Oh- your father, he almost killed him!  Little Shermie was black and blue and bleeding all over by the time he stopped.  I didn’t know what to do, I was so scared.  Maybe, maybe things could have been different if I hadn’t, if I had-”</p><p>“Ma, Ma, you can’t think like that.  Just focus on talking to me right now.”  He didn’t want to make her feel worse, but while they were on the topic of his father, he had to know.  “Umm, so Pa didn’t… kick him out?”</p><p>She sniffed.  “No, but he’s absolutely furious, I don’t know what to do.”</p><p>Sure, so Stan got kicked out for an accident, but his little brother could get a girl knocked up at fifteen and he’d still have a place to call home.  He certainly didn’t want his brother to receive the same treatment he had, but thinking of how his father cast him away made his blood boil just the same as it did that crucial night so many years ago.  But this was about Shermie, not him.  Stan refocused himself.</p><p>“So now what?”</p><p>“I don’t know, I just don’t know.”  Her breath caught.  “Stanford, I- I know you can’t leave your research for long, but maybe if you’ve got a little time, you could visit?  I haven’t seen you since- since,” and Ma’s sobs took over her ability to speak.</p><p>Go see Ma again, now that was an idea.  He could take a break from the shack and the portal.  Maybe he could pretend his life was normal for a minute.  He missed her, but the thought of seeing the bastard that kicked him out when he was still just a kid- well, he didn’t know if he could face him.  No, that wasn’t it- he knew if he went back to New Jersey and saw his father, he would kill him.</p><p>“Okay Ma, I’ll see.  My work needs me here, and I don’t know if I could leave it.  I’ll see, though.”</p><p>Maybe he could invite her to come stay at the shack instead.  She could bring Shermie, and they could stay as long as they needed, kept safe from Pa and with a fresh start.  Hell, Shermie could bring his girl and they could live with him more permanently, finishing high school while working at the shack, and then they could move out when they graduated.  The attic could be cleaned up for the kid, and Shermie and his girl could have Ford’s old room.</p><p>But then where would Ford go when he came back?  What the hell was he thinking- did he really believe he could keep the portal a secret if he had his family living with him?  He had kept his distance to avoid jeopardizing that very mission, and he couldn’t risk it now.  That was why he had to avoid them.  Stanley Pines was dead, and if he intended to save Ford, things would have to stay that way.  He was able to fool Ma enough for a couple phone calls a year, but if he invited her to stay with him it wouldn’t take long for her to see through his lie.</p><p>“Okay,” she said.</p><p>Could he let Shermie down like he let Ford down, though?  Could he be a failure to both of his brothers?  No, Shermie had Ma, he had someone in his corner.  He still had a home, and that gave him some security.  Ford had nobody but Stan, and Stan didn’t know what lay beyond the portal.  Was he safe?  Was he even still alive?  No, Ford couldn’t be dead, because then Stan was wasting his time trying to fix something that was beyond repair.  He still had a chance to save his brother, but if he put Ford’s priority aside he could lose his twin for good.</p><p>“Hey Ma, does Shermie still go to my old high school?”</p><p>“What?”</p><p>“Shermie, does he go to the same high school I did?”</p><p>“Uhh, yeah, where else would he be?”</p><p>“Just wondering.”</p><p>In the background, a door closed, and Stan could hear a muffled voice.  “My husband is home, I have to go,” Ma said, her attitude suddenly sober.  She must not have wanted Pa to know she was calling her son.</p><p>Stan’s heart went out to her.  Still with Pa, one son gone, one who avoided her, and now one becoming a father in high school, he couldn’t even imagine the sorrow she must feel.  He wanted to hug her through the line, to make everything okay for just a minute and let her know he was there.  When was the last time he told Ma he loved her?</p><p>“Okay, I’ll let you go.  Uh, Ma?”</p><p>“Yes?”</p><p>He paused.  “I’m sorry to hear this.  Thanks for calling.  Bye Ma.”</p><p>“Goodbye.”  The line went dead.</p><p>- - -</p><p>The phone call left Stan drained.  Still, he wasn’t done, even if he wasn’t going to visit New Jersey.  Stan got out two envelopes, stamps, paper, and a pen.  First was to sort Shermie out.  He took the pen and wrote down the address of his school rather than home so Ma and Pa wouldn’t intercept it.</p><p>
  <em>Sherman,<br/>
Ma called and explained your situation.  This is for you, and you don’t have to tell Ma or Pa about it.  I’m guessing they’ve already made your life hell enough, so I won’t tell you you’re a screw-up too.  Just use this to take care of yourself, and don’t be stupid with it.</em>
</p><p>Stan considered leaving off there, but he quickly added a bit more before he could change his mind.</p><p>
  <em>I know you don’t remember your brother Stanley much, but he essentially ruined my whole life.  He already used up this family’s allowance of mistakes, so just be better than him and don’t make your life any harder than it already is.<br/>
-S. Pines</em>
</p><p>Next was to write to Ma.  After shoving aside half a dozen letters he wasn’t happy with, he ended up writing very little he was comfortable with her reading.</p><p>
  <em>Dear Ma,<br/>
I am unable to visit right now.  I’m working on something that needs constant attention, and I can’t risk its success.  I’m sorry to hear about Shermie.  I hope this helps.<br/>
Your Son,<br/>
Stanford</em>
</p><p>He wrote the same address he’d grew up at on the envelope and put the letter inside.  To each envelope he added an uncharastically generous sum of cash, and with that he sealed each one and added a stamp.  He sighed and made his way to the mailbox, hoping the letters would arrive safely.  Neither one had a return address listed.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>So I know Alex Hirsch has said not to worry about details like exactly how old certain characters are or what the specific timeline of everything is, but I can’t help myself. If Stan and Ford are sixty-something by the time Dipper and Mabel are twelve and Shermie is the baby in “A Tale of Two Stans”, then there would have had to be some seriously young pregnancies for everything to line up. These aren’t the important things, but since I couldn’t get the idea out of my head, I figured I might as well explore it.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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